Half-glove medical applicator mitt



Nov. 5, 1968 H. P. KRON HALF-GLOVE MEDICAL APPLICATOR MITT 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1966 HAROLD PAUL KRON INVENTOR.

BY E

ATTORNEY Nov. 5, 1968 KRON 3,409,010

HALF-GLOVE MEDICAL APPLICATOR MITT Filed April 25, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2HAROLD PAUL KRON INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,409,010 1 -HALF-GLOVE MEDICAL APPLICATORMlTT Harold Paul Kr0n,-Holcombe, Wis'. 54745 Filed Apr. 25,1966, Ser.No. 545,095 5 Claims. (Cl. 128-160) I This invention relates to cleaningand applicator mitts for medications, emollients, and otherdermatological agents, and more particularly to a disposable half-glovemitt for hospital and surgicaluse, V 4 The human fetus emerges intotheworld withits skin covered by a sebaceous deposit consisting of amixture ofex-foliations of outer'skin layer, anddowny hairs known aslanugo, and secretions .ofthe-sebaceous glands. This substance, known asthe vernix caseosa, serves to protect the-skin of a fetus from attack byits own urine which accumulates;in the amniotic fluid during the lastweeks of pregnancy. Once the skin is exposed to atmosphere, however,-the.vernix' has: served its purpose and must be removed before it hardens.This is generally done by the application of olive oil to the skin ofthe new born infant .orby wiping'of the skin by a wash cloth moistenedwith water or a cleaning compound followed by the application of oliveoil. Since the vernix and materials covering the baby at birth tendstoharden into a dry crust or scale promptly upon exposure to air, itsremoval from the baby should begin as soon as possible after, sometimeseven during, expulsion from the body of the mother.

The vernix caseosa is particularly abundant, however, in the creases ofthe skin, and is by no means easy to remove from such-places,particularly'the eye sockets of the infant, by the mere application ofolive oil. It is necessary to wash and vigorously wipe the eyes of thenewly born infant clean of all vernix caseosa before the antisepticsilver nitrate may be applied thereto in prophylaxis of variousinfections which can lead to blindness.

In present hospital practice, the wiping of the eyes of the newbornchild is done after 'the physician or nurse holding the infant haswrapped one hand in asterile wash cloth or towel which provides anabsorbent surface of sufficient rug'osity to adequately dislodge andexpunge'the cheesy substance of the vernix. Such a method is but amakeshift, and subject to serious drawbacks, among which are delay andclumsiness, compounded by the necessity of having to hold the slipperynewborn baby with one haud'while cleaning the baby withthe other hand.The process of washing. and cleaning around the eyes of the baby with awash cloth wrapped around the fingers of the doctor are awkward at besteven in fully staffed delivery rooms of modern hospitals where nursesare available to replace the wash cloths as they become soiled. However,when babies are delivered in homes, under emergency conditions, or whennurses and delivery-room personnel are thinly deployed and working underpressure, as is not uncommonly the case, serious consequences can resultfrom delay or failure in completely removing the vernix from the eyes,or from clumsiness culminating in the dropping of a baby.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a combinationapplicator and wiping cloth in the form of a mitt or half-glove capableof being rapidly donned and rapidly removed.

Another object is to provide an applicator mitt which may be donned andremoved by the hand that wears it.

A further object is to provide a mitt of such cheapness and simplicityof fabrication as to be completely disposable after a single use.

Another object is to provide a mitt that will not slip off the hand.

Still another object is to provide a medical applicator mitt having aseparate covering or fingerstall for the index 1 '2 finger so that theindex finger can be used separately and effectively used in and aroundthe eyes for cleaning while the sheath covering the other three fingerscan carry oliveoil for intermittent application in loosening matter tobe removed or in smoothing and soothing an area that has been cleaned.

Another object is to create a medical applicator mitt provided with aprotective liner that will prevent caustic medications from reaching andburning or injuring the hand of the operator.

A further object of the invention is to provide a disposable single useapplicator and cleaning mitt of such cheapness and simplicity, that mitscan be impregnated with the various cleaning and medication compounds atthe time of manufacture and sealed in separate plastic packages .so thetreated mitt is ready for immediate use the moment it is removed fromthe package.

Other objects and advantages of vthe invention will become apparent fromthe following description, when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings of the device in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the preferred embodiment of the device as itwould appear if worn upon the left hand of an operator. The outline ofthe position of the fingers of the operator within the device isindicated for the sake of clarity by dashed lines without therebyimplying that the hand of the operator is a part of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the deviceas it would appear if worn upon the right hand of an operator.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the deviceas it would appear if worn upon the righthand of an operator, andshowing one method of use or application thereby.

In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated inthe drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake ofclarity. However, it is not intended to be limited to the specific termsso selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includesall technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner toaccomplish a similar purpose.

Turning now to the specific embodiment of the invention selected forillustration herein and particularly to FIG. 1, the device is seen tocomprise a half-glove or mitt formed so as to sheath only the knucklesof the human hand with a separate sheathing or fingerstall for the indexfinger but excluding the thumb which is seldom used in the cleaning orapplication of medication to human tissue.

Under normal anticipatable production circumstances the preferredembodiment of the applicator mitt would be fabricated by cutting a trankfrom an elongated sheet of flexible, stretchable material having anabsorbent surface such as stretch terrycloth, When said trank is foldedover upon itself and stitched or secured along outside edges 13, 14 and15 it will produce mitt 11 with sheath 16 adapted to cover outer fingers17, 18 and 19 only and a separate finger stall 20 to sheath index finger21. Finger 'user must work with but a single hand.

An elastic band 25 is sewn, heat sealed or otherwise secured in the rimof the culf 24 of said mitt so as to prevent the device from slippingoff over the knuckles of the hand during use.

In many instances the medication to be applied by the mitt may'becaustic 'or oisuch character as to stain or burn' the fingers of theuser. To provide for such situations the manufacturer of the inventionwill need to provide for a variation of the device in which the mitt islined with a protective barrier liner 26 made from rubber, plastic or amaterial that will be impervious to the medications and compositions towhich the absorbent surface of the mitt may be exposed.

It shouldalso be noted that the base liner for mitt 11 could befabricated first as a rubber or plastic mitt and an absorbent fabric orsurface material coated on t the outside of the mitt. In some instancesit might be desirable to apply the. coating of absorbent material toonly those parts of the mitt to be used in applying medication such asthe palm side of the mitt but it would seem preferable to'always coverall of the index finger stall 20 with an absorbent surface'material.

The utility of the mitt as an improved device for cleaning surfaces andthe direct application of medications that are readily picked up on thesurface of the material and brushed or smoothed on the parts to betreated will be readily apparent from mere observation of FIGURES 2 and3 of the drawings. In practice however, it will often be found morepractical to package individual applicator mitts in sealed plastic bagsor containers with the detergent, cleaning compound or medicationimpregnated into the mitt prior to packaging so that the mitt is readyto be drawn on to the hand and applied to the intended use as soon as itis removed from the sealed package.

1 Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A disposable half-glove medical applicator and cleaning mittcomprising:

(A) 'an elongated sheet of flexible, stretchable material having anabsorbent surface cut to form (1) a trank which (2) when folded uponitself, and (3) stitched along its outside edges produces (B) anabbreviated palm section; (C) an abbreviated back section;

(D) a sheath adapted to provide a common cover for only the threeouterm'ost'fingers of the human hand; i (E) a fingerstall adapted tocover the index finger onl (F) 13 n abbreviated cuff section of justsufiicient length to reach just backiof the knuckles of the user withoutincluding the thumb; (G) an elastic band so securedin the cutf openingof the mitt as to prevent the device from slipping off over the knucklesduring use. r

2. The disposable half-glove medical cleaning and applicator mittdescribed in claim 1 provided with a prois tective barrier liner ofmaterial impervious to the medications and compositions to which theabsorbent surface of the mitt maybe exposed.

3. The disposable half-glove medical cleaning and applicator mittdescribed in claim 1 impregnated with a washing and cleaning compound.

1 4.The disposable half-glove medical cleaning and applicator mittdescribed in' claim 1 impregnated with a medication. 1

5. A disposable half-glove cleaning and applicator mitt having thestructure described in claim 1 but fabricated from a rubber likematerial with at least the palm side of the finger sheath and fingerstall covered with an absorbent surface material.

References Cited ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

1. A DISPOSABLE HALF-GLOVE MEDICAL APPLICATOR AND CLEANING MITTCOMPRISING: (A) AN ELONGATED SHEET OF FLEXIBLE, STRETCHABLE MATERIALHAVING AN ABSORBENT SURFACES CUT TO FORM (1) A TRANK WHICH (2) WHENFOLDED UPON ITSELF, AND (3) STITCHED ALONG ITS OUTSIDE EDGES PRODUCES(B) AN ABBREVIATED PALM SECTION; (C) AN ABBREVIATED BACK SECTION; (D) ASHEATH ADAPTED TO PROVIDE A COMMON COVER FOR ONLY THE THREE OUTERMOSTFINGERS OF THE HUMAN HAND; (E) A FINGERSTALL ADAPTED TO COVER THE INDEXFINGER ONLY; (F) AN ABBREVIATED CUFF SECTION OF JUST SUFFICIENT LENGTHTO REACH JUST BACK OF THE KNUCKLES OF THE USER WITHOUT INCLUDING THETHUMB; (G) AN ELASTIC BAND SO SECURED IN THE CUFF OPENING OF THE MITT ASTO PREVENT THE DEVICE FROM SLIPPING OFF OVER THE KNUCKLES DURING USE.